by: Yong Kaichang    KWM

Introduction

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a monumental global development program initiated to connect China with the world to promote trade, economic integration, and growth. Since its inception by President Xi in 2013, the BRI, set out along ancient land and maritime networks, is now a US$1 trillion project spanning over 137 countries and 30 international organizations.
Continue Reading Going South: Successfully investing in S.E. Asia along the BRI

By King & Wood Mallesons

In the past 12 months, our growth in China and in other major centres around the world has allowed us to witness a substantial increase in the ease of doing business with Chinese investors. We have seen regulatory controls and red tape have reduced significantly, there has been more competition

By King & Wood Mallesons

As part of our Chinese Outbound Investment publication, we make a number of predictions on the future of China’s offshore investment. Aside from further deregulation which will substantially increase the ease of doing business, we predict the following trends.

Market and Deal Trends

  • China will become the world’s biggest cross-border

By Tim Taylor QC King & Wood Mallesons’ Dubai Office

Itaylor_tn March 2015 the Government of India issued its draft model text for the Indian Bilateral Investment Treaty (the “Draft BIT”) for public comment. Following various amendments, on 28 December 2015, the revised, and final, version of the model BIT (the “

By Tim Taylor QC  Chiz Nwokonkor  King & Wood Mallesons

Ftaylor_trom Abidjan to Tunis, arbitration centres are on the rise in Africa. This upward trend has mirrored the growth and gradual diversification of many African economies. The growth can be seen to be driven along sector lines, with the vast majority of disputes coming

By Stuart Bruce and Juliette Huard-Bourgois, King & Wood Mallesons’ London Office

Large-scale investments made in foreign jurisdictions face many risks, particularly when the investments are in countries with high levels of political and regulatory risk or developing judicial systems, as is often a concern for international investors entering certain African states. In such\ circumstances, investors are particularly concerned about the legal protections that are available to them during the life of their investments. Bilateral and multilateral investment treaties (“BITs”, “MITs”) have become the principle vehicle to overcome these challenges and mitigate the risks of government intervention.

BITs are international law instruments – treaties – agreed between two states. MITs are treaties agreed between more than two states. The purpose of BITs and MITs is to create a stable legal environment that fosters foreign direct investment. This is achieved by the “host state” (i.e. the state in which the investment is made) agreeing to provide certain guarantees and standards of protection to the investments of private foreign investors (i.e. those with the nationality of, or incorporation in, the “home state”). The investor is also provided with the opportunity to enforce its rights under the investment treaty against the host state through independent international investment arbitration. This is the major innovation of investment treaties, as traditionally it was only states that had standing to bring claims against one another.
Continue Reading Maximising Investment Protection in Africa: the Role of Investment Treaties and Investment Arbitration